The 2016 Summer Olympics are set to take place on August 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and if you spend any time on the trails around the city of Boulder, you just might see some familiar faces competing in your favorite events at this year’s games.

In the track and field category, three Boulderites, former CU star athletes, and members of the 2012 Olympic team, are busy training to make their final bids on the Road to Rio. On most days, you’ll find Emma Coburn (3,000 Meter Steeplechase), Jenny Simpson (1,500 Meters), and Shalaya Kipp (3,00 Meters) training together on trails in and around town, or even sharing a jar of mayo and other training and post-run tips on social media. At just twenty-one-years-old, Coburn, (born and raised in Crested Butte, Colorado), was the youngest runner on the American team at the 2012 Olympics — finishing ninth overall in the steeplechase final with a time of 9:23:54.

There’s nothing like it. Enjoying a meal made with colorful and crisp ingredients just picked from the garden. Knowing where your food comes from and the love and care put into making it, makes eating it that much more enjoyable.

It’s that kind of food that people want to eat, and it’s the kind of dining experience that local restauranteur, Chef Tim Payne, strives to create in his recently opened restaurant in downtown Lyons. One step inside of Payne’s Farmer Girl Community Bistro reveals a chef that values locally-grown ingredients and close-knit partnerships with local farms. A chalkboard in the entryway is adorned with a list of farms that supply Payne and his team with ingredients at the peak of their growth. Dishes on Farmer Girl’s menu change with the season and the readiness of each farm’s crop.

Springtime is my favorite time to be in the city of Boulder. Between the blooming cherry blossoms on the CU campus, the return of perfect hiking weather and patio season, and the beginning of a busy festival season in the local craft beer scene, the month of April is time to shed the winter coat and get back to what we Boulderites do best—enjoying life in the vibrant community that we call home. Check out these five events in April that will melt away the winter blues and kick off a great summer in this beautiful city.Continue Reading

It isn’t a secret that Boulder is a dream come true for outdoor aficionados. Mazes of hiking trails lure adventure-seekers out along with the warm weather each year, but this year, why not mix it up a little and explore new outdoor adventures that are waiting just outside of your back door? From learning how to stand up paddle board, to upping your mountain biking shred skills, to gulping up the Kool-Aid of the the area’s insanely popular climbing scene—there’s an adventure for everyone waiting patiently for the temps in Boulder to rise again. Check out these five outdoor adventures to explore in Boulder this summer.Continue Reading

The anticipation is over for curious diners in Boulder who have patiently watched the northwest corner of the intersection of Pearl and 9th transform from a flashy Tesla dealership, to a pile of rubble, to a brand new building that will house a handful of residential opportunities as well as one of Boulder’s newest additions to the city’s celebrated restaurant scene.

On March 21, Via Perla (which translates to “Pearl Street” in Italian) will officially open to the public for dinner at their new digs at 901 Pearl Street. The 4,000 square-foot restaurant is the third restaurant from Peg and Joe Romano, the culinary masterminds behind The Walnut Restaurant Group, which includes two of downtown Boulder’s most popular restaurants: The MED and Brasserie Ten Ten. The husband-and-wife team’s third restaurant was inspired by their love for Italian food and culture, and a phone call from the private developers of their new location who encouraged the Romanos to consider opening a new restaurant on the first floor of their new development.

The craft beer scene in Colorado looks a lot different today than it did in 1979 when David Hummer and a fellow CU professor left the classroom behind to fulfill every passionate homebrewer’s dream of opening a brewery. Together, the two opened Boulder Beer Company—receiving only the forty-third brewing license in the United States and the first in the state of Colorado.

According to the Brewers Association, Colorado is now home to roughly 235 craft breweries that together, are producing nearly two million barrels of beer each year. And it all started with a couple of beer nuts whose forward thinking set Colorado on an explosive craft course embraced throughout the state.

February kicks off Stout Month in the craft beer world. Nobody celebrates harder then the malt-lovin’ crew at Mountain Sun Pubs and Breweries—which isn’t much of a surprise—since the Colorado-based chain of brewpubs created the event years ago in an attempt to drum up some extra business during one of the slowest months in the beer year.

What began at the original downtown Boulder location with a few taps devoted to Stout beers throughout the month, has developed into a spectacle of a celebration complete with a cult-like following of craft beer drinkers that the count down the days until Stout Month, like kids countdown the days to Christmas. As Stout Month continues to flourish and grow, so do the dark and roasty offerings from local breweries that are in on the action. Check out these five Boulder breweries that are doing stout month right, and if you’re not generally a fan of darker, malty beers, now’s the time to give ‘em another try.Continue Reading

It’s been more than fifty years since the last train departed from the original Boulder Railroad Depot, but thanks to a Colorado-based restaurant company with Boulder roots, the hustle and bustle of a busy depot has once returned to the historic stone building.

It’s a story literally written on the walls of the Roadhouse Boulder Depot restaurant—the former train depot’s current inhabitant. It begins on 14th Street and Canyon Boulevard (then Water Street), where the Union Pacific Railroad began construction on the depot using locally-sourced stone from Boulder County quarries. The project cost a cool $16,000 and was the talk of the town by many Boulder residents who gushed over the building’s excellent stonework designed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style of architecture popular in the United States in the late 1800s.

The Boulder Railroad Depot would go on to serve as the city’s only depot until 1957, at which time it was out with the old and in with a new depot built just east of town. But instead of tearing the beautiful building down, it would continue on as a hub for transportation in the city, converting from a train depot to a bus terminal operated by the Denver-Boulder Bus Company. For sixteen years, the original train depot would operate as a revolving door for people departing from and entering the city of Boulder, until 1973, when the last travelers passed through the building, and the depot shuttered its doors.

Today, the train depot is the centerpiece of the city’s up-and-coming Boulder Junction neighborhood, a 160-acre redevelopment area that is home to a handful of contemporary affordable apartment complexes, a newly built Hyatt hotel, and fittingly—an underground RTD bus station. The building retains many elements of its historical past, but also sports a modern new look, thanks to the folks at the Roadhouse Hospitality Group—the company behind Colorado restaurants like the Wazee Lounge & Supper Club, Kickapoo Tavern, and several Dusty Boot restaurants.

Founded by three brothers and former University of Colorado Boulder alums, the old train depot now goes by the Roadhouse Boulder Depot, a name that reflects the tasteful combination of past and present that defines the building today. The walls of the restaurant are filled with black and white photographs depicting the depot’s journey through time. Steel panels and railroad tracks are subtly used as decorative touches in the dining room, community seating area, and bar of the restaurant, which officially celebrated its grand opening last week. An ode to the Boulder Jaycees (a chapter of the United States Junior Chamber) is painted on the wall above the restaurant’s open kitchen, paying homage to the organization credited with saving the depot from demolition in the early 1970s. With the help of the Historic Boulder, the Jaycees were able to orchestrate the relocation of the depot to it’s current address at 2366 Junction Pl.

On the menu at the Roadhouse Boulder Depot, diners will find a hearty selection of elevated pub fare featuring a blend of Southwestern, Asian, and All-American cuisines. Gluten-free diners can select menu items from a large section of the restaurant’s menu that is solely dedicated to gluten-free dishes. Locally produced craft beers, wines, and other spirits can be found on the drink menu, which can be sipped on the large outdoor patio which will open once the Boulder weather warms up.

Ready to head out? Check out their guide to getting there, including a handy embedded map. It’s an easy find, too. Just go past the Whole Foods Parking lot (yeah, you know it well) and keep heading east towards Foothills and bam. Bon appetit!

Boulder is a vibrant place known for many things. It’s the home of more than 150 years of history. It’s a mecca for some of the top professionals in the food and beverage industry. It’s framed by a mesmerizing scenic backdrop straight out of a Bob Ross painting. And it’s filled with health-conscious people that take advantage of Boulder’s natural beauty and abundant sunshine as often as possible. The following tours showcase the diverse attractions that routinely convert tourists into residents each year.

Whether you’re a resident of the city of Boulder, or planning on spending time in the area this year, make 2016 the year of exploration and check out one of the many unique tours offered by local businesses.

The City of Boulder dates back well over a century, which makes it easy to grasp that nearly every historic building in the city’s downtown area has played host to a variety of business ventures. Some ventures did well. Some fizzled out. But each and every one of those buildings garnered a history—none more so than the colorful past of the brick building located at 1724 Broadway Street.

The 100 year-old building with the mysterious facade initially housed a candy store. In the 30s, the building was transformed into a photography studio complete with some modifications to play up Colorado’s infamous dependable sunshine.

In the 70s, the building was used as office space, and in 1980, it was converted into a groovy disco. When bell bottoms and the word groovy finally phased out of Boulder, the charming building that sits adjacent to the rolling waters of Boulder Creek went through several ownership crisis—mostly striving without avail to become a reliable part of Boulder’s respected dining scene.